These are not my words but after reading them over the weekend in a sister publication, the Wagga Daily Advertiser, I just had to repeat them here. “Any lingering pretence that our politicians serve the people and not themselves has surely been put to rest in the past week. “The words of former NSW Premier Jack Lang – “In the race of life, always back self-interest – at least you know it’s trying” – have never been more prophetic. “The party that was so scathing of the dysfunction that Labor showed during the inglorious Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years has now proved itself every bit as inept as its great rival. “Australian politics is locked in a vicious downward spiral of self-interest that shows no sign of stopping. “And it is the people who suffer. “Every minute the government’s MPs spent last week navel gazing was a minute they could have spent supporting rural communities through drought. “Or helping cancer patients get access to better treatment, or creating new jobs for regional centres. “It is often said that a nation gets the government it deserves. “That could not be further from the truth. “The Australian people deserve so, so much better than what we have seen over the past week.” If the week had anything to do with winning government and leading the Australian people the Liberal party would have voted for Julie Bishop as leader. She was clearly the choice of the Australian people, even a straw poll conducted by one media organisation in the streets of Brisbane, Peter Dutton’s home state, before Friday’s vote pointed towards Bishop as the people’s choice. Not surprising polls on Monday showed that with Scott Morrison as PM support for the Coalition has nosedived. Last week was an appalling spectacle made worse by the fact we have seen it all before. The Coalition came to power on the back of voter dissatisfaction with the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd revolving door leadership and has learned nothing from that disaster. ​All the politicians will come out of this current crisis promising they’ve learned a lesson before going on to prove they’ve learned nothing at all. Welcome to the sad and sobering reality Australian politics in 2018.

Our politicians need to serve the people

These are not my words but after reading them over the weekend in a sister publication, the Wagga Daily Advertiser, I just had to repeat them here.

“Any lingering pretence that our politicians serve the people and not themselves has surely been put to rest in the past week.

“The words of former NSW Premier Jack Lang – “In the race of life, always back self-interest – at least you know it’s trying” – have never been more prophetic.

“The party that was so scathing of the dysfunction that Labor showed during the inglorious Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years has now proved itself every bit as inept as its great rival.

“Australian politics is locked in a vicious downward spiral of self-interest that shows no sign of stopping.

“And it is the people who suffer.

“Every minute the government’s MPs spent last week navel gazing was a minute they could have spent supporting rural communities through drought.

“Or helping cancer patients get access to better treatment, or creating new jobs for regional centres.

“It is often said that a nation gets the government it deserves.

“That could not be further from the truth.

“The Australian people deserve so, so much better than what we have seen over the past week.”

If the week had anything to do with winning government and leading the Australian people the Liberal party would have voted for Julie Bishop as leader.

She was clearly the choice of the Australian people, even a straw poll conducted by one media organisation in the streets of Brisbane, Peter Dutton’s home state, before Friday’s vote pointed towards Bishop as the people’s choice.

Not surprising polls on Monday showed that with Scott Morrison as PM support for the Coalition has nosedived.

Last week was an appalling spectacle made worse by the fact we have seen it all before.

The Coalition came to power on the back of voter dissatisfaction with the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd revolving door leadership and has learned nothing from that disaster.

​All the politicians will come out of this current crisis promising they’ve learned a lesson before going on to prove they’ve learned nothing at all.